as in jealousy
a painful awareness of another's possessions or advantages and a desire to have them too
their envy of their neighbor's fancy home threatened to wreck their friendship
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to resent
to have a resentful awareness of and desire for (another's possessions or advantages) or to feel resentment toward (someone) over possessions or advantages
her coworkers envied her chummy relationship with the senior vice president they envied him because he didn't have to work for a living
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of envy
Emma Burrows, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
Sofia D’Amato, a 22-year-old Venetian, emphasized that the protests weren’t about envy for Bezos’ wealth or power.
—Sharon Braithwaite, CNN Money, 28 June 2025
Reece Rogers, Wired News, 28 June 2025
The platform has a super engaged audience involvement — with numbers any brand would envy.
—Jeetendr Sehdev, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for envy
Noun
Finland’s civil defense shelters are the envy of the Nordics and can fit around 86% of the Finnish population.
—Emma Burrows, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
Sofia D’Amato, a 22-year-old Venetian, emphasized that the protests weren’t about envy for Bezos’ wealth or power.
—Sharon Braithwaite, CNN Money, 28 June 2025
Verb
Its green owl mascot had gone viral multiple times and was well known to younger users—a success story other marketers envied.
—Reece Rogers, Wired News, 28 June 2025
The platform has a super engaged audience involvement — with numbers any brand would envy.
—Jeetendr Sehdev, Forbes.com, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for envy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for envy
Noun
-
But so are the jagged edges that made Girls, Dunham’s beloved 2012 HBO series, so refreshing, which include crippling jealousy, female rage, and unbridled honesty about bodily functions.—
Lindy Segal,
Glamour,
7 July 2025
-
There are so many emotions here: jealousy, strong desire to succeed.—
Marta Balaga,
Variety,
6 July 2025
Verb
-
Why Nara Smith's Quirky Charm Is So Endearing In the comments on all these videos, people tend to either make fun of Smith or lament that someday her children will grow up to resent their names.—
Elisabeth Sherman,
Parents,
2 July 2025
-
Harry resented the way he was treated as a bit of a joker and the royal wild child.—
Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
30 June 2025
Noun
-
There’s a great tradition in sports of being driven by a fear, or a hatred, of that feeling.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
-
She’s been feeling so much hatred, so much anger, so much sadness, so much disappointment these last few episodes.—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
13 July 2025
Noun
-
None of that is his fault, but frustration built up in the fanbase and developed into resentment from a section.—
Harry De Cosemo,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
-
Still, longtime fans had resigned themselves to watching grainy clips on YouTube, concluding that the resentment between the Gallaghers ran too deep to ever prompt a reunion.—
Paula Mejía,
Vulture,
5 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Envy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/envy. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share